Macedon Technologies, a privately-held software company, plans to invest $1.65 million to expand its corporate headquarters in Reston.

The expansion is expected to create 147 jobs, according to a Thursday press release by Gov. Ralph Northam.

The company, which is an Appian platform partner and provides programs for managing workflow and business, plans to lease 12,000 square feet at 11694 Plaza America Drive, next to its current offices at the shopping center.

Appian Corporation plans to relocate from its current headquarters at 11955 Democracy Drive to Tysons next month.

The cloud computing company will move into Gannett’s former headquarters at Valo Park (7950 Jones Branch Drive), bringing 600 jobs to Tysons.

“The 12.5-year lease for 200,000 square feet in the Jones Branch Drive building was officially signed April 17, complete with a press conference with Gov. Ralph Northam. The lease was a win for real estate group Tamares, which purchased the building from Gannett for $270 million in 2015,” the Washington Business Journal reported last week.

The county gave a $4 million grant to the company in December to help pay for the leasing, improvements, equipment and operation of Appian’s Tysons location.

Fairfax County competed with another jurisdiction for the expansion of Appian’s headquarters, according to county documents.

As part of the grant, Fairfax County must provide a local match which will be in the form of the Lincoln Street project, a roadway improvement which is already planned and funded in the county budget. The road improvement was identified by coordinating with the Fairfax County Department of Transportation.

Additionally, the county will provide an estimated funding of $288,000 from the Virginia Jobs Investment Program.

The Fairfax County Economic Development Authority will monitor Appian’s performance metrics agreed upon for the grant funding, updating the Office of the County Executive annually on the number of jobs and capital investment achieved during that time.

Reston-based Appian to move headquarters — Software company Appian is moving from its current headquarters in Reston Town Center to Gannett’s former home at 7950 Jones Branch Drive in Tysons. [WTOP]

Diva Central — Three marketing students from South Lakes High School are featured in Reston magazine for their involvement in Diva Central, which offers free, gently used formalwear to students for prom. [Fairfax County Public Schools]

Active violence in the workplace — The local police department is offering a workshop on how to deal with active violence in the workplace on April 23 in Reston. [Fairfax County Government]

Anywhere you looked in Reston and Herndon this afternoon, there were people wearing special glasses and looking into the sun as the first nationwide solar eclipse in decades passed over.

In our area, about 82 percent of the sun was blocked out at the event’s peak, around 2:42 p.m. Monday. Gathering spots across the area were filled with people enjoying the rare celestial event.

At Herndon High School, community members began lining up at 8 a.m. to get a free pair of eclipse-viewing safety glasses. The line wound around the school campus by the time their official eclipse party began at noon, and Principal Liz Noto said the 1,000 glasses the school had been given by Goddard Space Flight Center were gone by about 12:20.

“I did not realize how many people would be in need of glasses,” Noto said. “I thought we’d have extra.”

Those who were lucky enough to get glasses staked places on the school’s lawns and watched the moon pass in front of the sun. Ann Erickson, of Reston, said she remembered seeing an eclipse when she was a little girl in Arkansas, but that was “long ago.”

“If the clouds would go away, that would be nice,” Erickson said as she and her friends sat outside the school. “We just decided we’d all come and see it together, and it will be fun.”

At Reston Town Center, buildings emptied as hundreds of people gathered in common places to watch the show. Jorge Sanchez, of Sterling, and his wife, Melissa, were in Town Square Park wearing special eclipse-themed T-shirts.

“Ever since 2015, when I read in the news there would be an eclipse, I was like, ‘Yeah, yeah, can’t wait for it,'” he said. “We ordered some funny shirts. My wife, she’s kind of along for the ride — she’s a good sport.”

Several dozen employees from Appian were in Town Square Park, laughing and watching the eclipse through not just glasses, but through a colander and pinhole projectors made from shoeboxes and cereal boxes, among other means. Lang Ly, Appian’s senior vice president of strategy, said the crew had been readying themselves for the outing for quite a while.

“It’s a company team-building event. Last Wednesday, we got together and did a little ‘brown bag’ to create little solar-eclipse viewers,” Ly said. “We had a lot of fun. We’re a bunch of geeks.”

The next solar eclipse to pass across the United States will take place April 8, 2024. Reston will be at about 90 percent totality for that event.

Fairfax Closures for Memorial Day Weekend —Fairfax County government offices will be closed this weekend through Monday, as will libraries, schools and animal shelters. Public transit, trash pickup, recycling centers and recreation centers will all operate on a normal schedule. [Fairfax County]

Free RECenter Admission for Veterans on Memorial Day —Fairfax County Park Authority will honor former veterans and those in active duty Monday with free access to RECenters and lakefront parks. [Fairfax County]

Appian Now Open for Stock Trade —Trading on NASDAQ has begun for Appian, a Reston-based group that provides cloud-based business process management software solutions. Managed by Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs & Co., stock is available for $12 a share and the trade will be open until May 31. Appain has approximately 280 customers and will use the money raised to pay off loans and expansion expenses. [Washington Business Journal]

Scrawl Books Morning Story Time —Scrawl Books in Reston Town Center will have its weekly story time at 10:30 a.m. today. [Reston Town Center]

Metro’s Silver Line Will Get 7000 Series Railcars —Starting around June 25, the Silver Line will have two new 7000 Series trains added on weekdays to provide additional capacity. All previous trains have been the older versions that only feature six railcars, while the 7000 Series has eight. The cars are funded by the Metro Washington Airports Authority. [NBC Washington]